About This Book

Bad Science is a book about the dangers of relying on pseudoscience and quackery to make decisions about health and wellness. It discusses the importance of understanding the evidence behind claims and the need to be wary of those who try to privatise common sense. It also highlights the importance of randomisation, transparency, and full disclosure when conducting research. The book also emphasises the need for lifestyle changes such as exercise and healthy eating, rather than relying on expensive potions, to achieve good health.

Top Highlights

• trials with unclear methods of randomisation overstate treatment effects by 30 per cent, almost as much as the trials with openly rubbish methods of randomisation.
• Today, scientists and doctors find themselves outnumbered and outgunned by vast armies of individuals who feel entitled to pass judgement on matters of evidence—an admirable aspiration—without troubling themselves to obtain a basic understanding of the issues.
• You cannot reason people out of positions they didn’t reason themselves into.
• In a world of hurricane hunters and volcanologists, we must accept that everyone sets their own level of risk tolerance.
• There is only one internationally recognised method for identifying something as earwax: pick some up on the end of your finger, and touch it with your tongue.